OpenAI blocks ChatGPT requests to copy authors' styles

OpenAI has quietly updated its ChatGPT artificial intelligence model to reject direct requests to mimic the writing style of specific authors, a change observed by users in recent days. The chatbot now declines prompts asking for text in the style of famous writers, whether living or deceased, including Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Charles Dickens, and Ernest Hemingway. Instead, it offers to generate original content that captures the general mood, themes, or narrative techniques associated with an author's work while maintaining its own distinct voice.

When asked to produce a story opening in the style of Stephen King, for example, ChatGPT now responds that it cannot write in the author's "exact style" or closely imitate his distinctive voice. It will, however, propose writing something with the hallmarks of atmospheric, character-driven horror and small-town dread. This pattern of refusal and alternative offering has been confirmed for a range of other authors, indicating a systematic policy shift rather than an isolated glitch. The update alters how users access style-based writing, as the model's underlying ability to analyze and apply broader literary techniques remains...